TY - GEN A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg A1 - Torres, Luis Miguel T1 - Making the Yellow Angels Fly: Online Dispatching Of Service Vehicles in Real Time N2 - Combinatorial online optimization is an area with lots of applications and potential for significant progress, both in theory and practice. In this short note we sketch the ADACproblem, a typical large-scale online optimization problem, discuss some theoretical and pratical issues coming up, and explain, very briefly, how we approach this problem mathematically. Online problems are a battlefield of heuristics with many strong claims about their solution quality. We indicate that a stronger problem orientation and the use of a little more mathematics may yield. T3 - ZIB-Report - 02-18 KW - vehicle dispatching KW - soft time windows KW - real-time KW - column generation KW - pricing KW - branch and bound KW - real world data KW - ADAC Y1 - 2002 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6858 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg A1 - Winter, Thomas A1 - Zimmermann, Uwe T1 - Combinatorial Online Optimization in Real Time N2 - Optimization is the task of finding an optimum solution to a given problem. When the decision variables are discrete we speak of a combinatorial optimization problem. Such a problem is online when decisions have to be made before all data of the problem are known. And we speak of a real-time online problem when online decisions have to be computed within very tight time bounds. This paper surveys the are of combinatorial online and real-time optimization, it discusses, in particular, the concepts with which online and real-time algorithms can be analyzed. T3 - ZIB-Report - 01-16 KW - Online Optimization KW - Realtime Optimization KW - Competitive Analysis KW - Heuristics KW - Survey Y1 - 2001 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6424 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg A1 - Torres, Luis Miguel T1 - Real-Time Dispatching of Guided and Unguided Automobile Service Units with Soft Time Windows N2 - Given a set of service requests (events), a set of guided servers (units), and a set of unguided service contractors (conts), the vehicle dispatching problem {\sl vdp} is the task to find an assignment of events to units and conts as well as tours for all units starting at their current positions and ending at their home positions (dispatch) such that the total cost of the dispatch is minimized. The cost of a dispatch is the sum of unit costs, cont costs, and event costs. Unit costs consist of driving costs, service costs and overtime costs; cont costs consist of a fixed cost per service; event costs consist of late costs linear in the late time, which occur whenever the service of the event starts later than its deadline. The program \textsf{ZIBDIP} based on dynamic column generation and set partitioning yields solutions on heavy-load real-world instances (215 events, 95 units) in less than a minute that are no worse than 1\% from optimum on state-of-the-art personal computers. T3 - ZIB-Report - 01-22 KW - vehicle dispatching KW - soft time windows KW - real-time KW - column generation KW - pricing KW - branch and bound KW - real world data KW - ADAC Y1 - 2001 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6484 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Paepe, Willem de A1 - Rambau, Jörg A1 - Stougie, Leen T1 - Online Bin-Coloring N2 - We introduce a new problem that was motivated by a (more complicated) problem arising in a robotized assembly enviroment. The bin coloring problem is to pack unit size colored items into bins, such that the maximum number of different colors per bin is minimized. Each bin has size~$B\in\mathbb{N}$. The packing process is subject to the constraint that at any moment in time at most $q\in\mathbb{N}$ bins may be partially filled. Moreover, bins may only be closed if they are filled completely. An online algorithm must pack each item must be packed without knowledge of any future items. We investigate the existence of competitive online algorithms for the online uniform binpacking problem. We show upper bounds for the bin coloring problem. We prove an upper bound of $3q$ - 1 and a lower bound of $2q$ for the competitive ratio of a natural greedy-type algorithm, and show that surprisingly a trivial algorithm which uses only one open bin has a strictly better competitive ratio of $2q$ - 1. Morever, we show that any deterministic algorithm has a competitive ratio $\Omega (q)$ and that randomization does not improve this lower bound even when the adversary is oblivious. T3 - ZIB-Report - 01-07 KW - Online Optimization KW - randomized algorithms KW - lower bounds KW - competitive analysis Y1 - 2001 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6338 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Friese, Philipp A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Online-Optimization of Multi-Elevator Transport Systems with Reoptimization Algorithms based on Set-Partitioning Models N2 - We develop and experimentally compare policies for the control of a system of $k$ elevators with capacity one in a transport environment with $\ell$ floors, an idealized version of a pallet elevator system in a large distribution center of the Herlitz PBS AG in Falkensee. Each elevator in the idealized system has an individual waiting queue of infinite capacity. On each floor, requests arrive over time in global waiting queues of infinite capacity. The goal is to find a policy that, without any knowledge about future requests, assigns an elevator to each req uest and a schedule to each elevator so that certain expected cost functions (e.g., the average or the maximal flow times) are minimized. We show that a reoptimization policy for minimizing average sq uared waiting times can be implemented to run in real-time ($1\,s$) using dynamic column generation. Moreover, in discrete event simulations with Poisson input it outperforms other commonly used polic ies like multi-server variants of greedy and nearest neighbor. T3 - ZIB-Report - 05-03 KW - elevator group control KW - policy KW - reoptimization KW - online KW - real-time KW - simulation Y1 - 2005 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8373 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Helmberg, Christoph A1 - Röhl, Stefan T1 - A Case Study of Joint Online Truck Scheduling and Inventory Management for Multiple Warehouses N2 - For a real world problem --- transporting pallets between warehouses in order to guarantee sufficient supply for known and additional stochastic demand --- we propose a solution approach via convex relaxation of an integer programming formulation, suitable for online optimization. The essential new element linking routing and inventory management is a convex piecewise linear cost function that is based on minimizing the expected number of pallets that still need transportation. For speed, the convex relaxation is solved approximately by a bundle approach yielding an online schedule in 5 to 12 minutes for up to 3 warehouses and 40000 articles; in contrast, computation times of state of the art LP-solvers are prohibitive for online application. In extensive numerical experiments on a real world data stream, the approximate solutions exhibit negligible loss in quality; in long term simulations the proposed method reduces the average number of pallets needing transportation due to short term demand to less than half the number observed in the data stream. T3 - ZIB-Report - 05-11 KW - convex relaxation KW - integer programming KW - stochastic demand KW - network models KW - large scale problems KW - bundle method KW - logistics KW - vehicle routing Y1 - 2005 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8454 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Pfetsch, Marc T1 - A Column-Generation Approach to Line Planning in Public Transport N2 - The line planning problem is one of the fundamental problems in strategic planning of public and rail transport. It consists in finding lines and corresponding frequencies in a transport network such that a given travel demand can be satisfied. There are (at least) two objectives. The transport company wishes to minimize operating costs, the passengers want to minimize travel times. We propose a n ew multi-commodity flow model for line planning. Its main features, in comparison to existing models, are that the passenger paths can be freely routed and that the lines are generated dynamically. We discuss properties of this model and investigate its complexity. Results with data for the city of Potsdam, Germany, are reported. T3 - ZIB-Report - 05-18 KW - line planning KW - column generation Y1 - 2005 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8522 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg A1 - Torres, Luis Miguel T1 - Online-Dispatching of Automobile Service Units N2 - We present an online algorithm for a real-world vehicle dispatching problem at ADAC, the German Automobile Association. T3 - ZIB-Report - 02-44 KW - vehicle dispatching KW - soft time windows KW - online KW - real-time KW - ADAC Y1 - 2002 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7117 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hiller, Benjamin A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Reoptimization Gaps versus Model Errors in Online-Dispatching of Service Units for ADAC N2 - Under high load, the automated dispatching of service vehicles for the German Automobile Association (ADAC) must reoptimize a dispatch for 100--150 vehicles and 400 requests in about ten seconds to near optimality. In the presence of service contractors, this can be achieved by the column generation algorithm ZIBDIP. In metropolitan areas, however, service contractors cannot be dispatched automatically because they may decline. The problem: a model without contractors yields larger optimality gaps within ten seconds. One way-out are simplified reoptimization models. These compute a short-term dispatch containing only some of the requests: unknown future requests will influence future service anyway. The simpler the models the better the gaps, but also the larger the model error. What is more significant: reoptimization gap or reoptimization model error? We answer this question in simulations on real-world ADAC data: only the new model ZIBDIP{\footnotesize dummy} can keep up with ZIBDIP. T3 - ZIB-Report - 04-17 KW - vehicle dispatching KW - soft time windows KW - online KW - real-time KW - ADAC KW - optimality gap KW - high load Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7928 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Pfetsch, Marc T1 - Models for Line Planning in Public Transport N2 - The \emph{line planning problem} is one of the fundamental problems in strategic planning of public and rail transport. It consists of finding lines and corresponding frequencies in a public transport network such that a given travel demand can be satisfied. There are (at least) two objectives. The transport company wishes to minimize its operating cost; the passengers request short travel times. We propose two new multi-commodity flow models for line planning. Their main features, in comparison to existing models, are that the passenger paths can be freely routed and that the lines are generated dynamically. T3 - ZIB-Report - 04-10 KW - line planning KW - column generation Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-7854 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Neumann, Marika A1 - Pfetsch, Marc T1 - Angebotsplanung im öffentlichen Nahverkehr T1 - Service Design in Public Transport N2 - Die Angebotsplanung im öffentlichen Nahverkehr umfasst die Aufgaben der Netz-, Linien-,Fahr- und Preisplanung. Wir stellen zwei mathematische Optimierungsmodelle zur Linien- und Preisplanung vor. Wir zeigen anhand von Berechnungen für die Verkehrsbetriebe in Potsdam(ViP), dass sich damit komplexe Zusammenhänge quantitativ analysieren lassen. Auf diese Weise untersuchen wir die Auswirkungen von Freiheitsgraden auf die Konstruktion von Linien und die Wahl von Reisewegen der Passagiere, Abhängigkeiten zwischen Kosten und Reisezeiten sowie den Einfluss verschiedener Preissysteme auf Nachfrage und Kostendeckung. T3 - ZIB-Report - 08-04 KW - Preisplanung KW - Linienplanung KW - Optimierung Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10555 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Jaeger, Ulrich T1 - Planning Problems in Public Transit N2 - Every day, millions of people are transported by buses, trains, and airplanes in Germany. Public transit (PT) is of major importance for the quality of life of individuals as well as the productivity of entire regions. Quality and efficiency of PT systems depend on the political framework (state-run, market oriented) and the suitability of the infrastructure (railway tracks, airport locations), the existing level of service (timetable, flight schedule), the use of adequate technologies (information, control, and booking systems), and the best possible deployment of equipment and resources (energy, vehicles, crews). The decision, planning, and optimization problems arising in this context are often gigantic and “scream” for mathematical support because of their complexity. This article sketches the state and the relevance of mathematics in planning and operating public transit, describes today’s challenges, and suggests a number of innovative actions. The current contribution of mathematics to public transit is — depending on the transportation mode — of varying depth. Air traffic is already well supported by mathematics. Bus traffic made significant advances in recent years, while rail traffic still bears significant opportunities for improvements. In all areas of public transit, the existing potentials are far from being exhausted. For some PT problems, such as vehicle and crew scheduling in bus and air traffic, excellent mathematical tools are not only available, but used in many places. In other areas, such as rolling stock rostering in rail traffic, the performance of the existing mathematical algorithms is not yet sufficient. Some topics are essentially untouched from a mathematical point of view; e.g., there are (except for air traffic) no network design or fare planning models of practical relevance. PT infrastructure construction is essentially devoid of mathematics, even though enormous capital investments are made in this area. These problems lead to questions that can only be tackled by engineers, economists, politicians, and mathematicians in a joint effort. Among other things, the authors propose to investigate two specific topics, which can be addressed at short notice, are of fundamental importance not only for the area of traffic planning, should lead to a significant improvement in the collaboration of all involved parties, and, if successful, will be of real value for companies and customers: • discrete optimal control: real-time re-planning of traffic systems in case of disruptions, • model integration: service design in bus and rail traffic. Work on these topics in interdisciplinary research projects could be funded by the German ministry of research and education (BMBF), the German ministry of economics (BMWi), or the German science foundation (DFG). T3 - ZIB-Report - 09-13 KW - öffentlicher Verkehr KW - diskrete Optimierung KW - ganzzahlige Programmierung KW - public transit KW - discrete optimization KW - integer programming Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11252 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Erol, Berkan A1 - Klemenz, Marc A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Schultz, Sören A1 - Tanner, Andreas T1 - TTPLIB 2008 - A Library for Train Timetabling Problems N2 - We introduce (TTPlib), a data library for train timetabling problems that can be accessed at http://ttplib.zib.de. In version 1.0, the library contains data related to 50 scenarios. Most instances result from the combination of macroscopic railway networks and several train request sets for the German long distance area containing Hannover, Kassel and Fulda, short denoted by Ha-Ka-Fu. In this paper, we introduce the data concepts of TTPlib, describe the scenarios included in the library and provide a free visualization tool TraVis. T3 - ZIB-Report - 08-19 KW - Fahrplanung KW - Problembibliothek KW - Optimierung KW - Train Timetabling Problem KW - Data Library KW - Optimization Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10732 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - Balancing Efficiency and Robustness – A Bi-criteria Optimization Approach to Railway Track Allocation N2 - Technical restrictions and challenging details let railway traffic become one of the most complex transportation systems. Routing trains in a conflict-free way through a track network is one of the basic scheduling problems for any railway company. This article focuses on a robust extension of this problem, also known as train timetabling problem (TTP), which consists in finding a schedule, a conflict free set of train routes, of maximum value for a given railway network. However, timetables are not only required to be profitable. Railway companies are also interested in reliable and robust solutions. Intuitively, we expect a more robust track allocation to be one where disruptions arising from delays are less likely to be propagated causing delays of subsequent trains. This trade-off between an efficient use of railway infrastructure and the prospects of recovery leads us to a bi-criteria optimization approach. On the one hand we want to maximize the profit of a schedule, that is more or less to maximize the number of feasible routed trains. On the other hand if two trains are scheduled as tight as possible after each other it is clear that a delay of the first one always affects the subsequent train. We present extensions of the integer programming formulation in [BorndoerferSchlechte2007] for solving (TTP). These models can incorporate both aspects, because of the additional track configuration variables. We discuss how these variables can directly be used to measure a certain type of robustness of a timetable. For these models which can be solved by column generation techniques, we propose so-called scalarization techniques, see [Ehrgott2005], to determine efficient solutions. Here, an efficient solution is one which does not allow any improvement in profit and robustness at the same time. We prove that the LP-relaxation of the (TTP) including an additional $\epsilon$-constraint remains solvable in polynomial time. Finally, we present some preliminary results on macroscopic real-world data of a part of the German long distance railway network. T3 - ZIB-Report - 08-22 KW - Train Timetabling Problem KW - Bicriteria Optimization KW - Column Generation Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10763 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Torres, Luis Miguel A1 - Torres, Ramiro A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Pfetsch, Marc T1 - Line Planning on Paths and Tree Networks with Applications to the Quito Trolebus System N2 - Line planning is an important step in the strategic planning process of a public transportation system. In this paper, we discuss an optimization model for this problem in order to minimize operation costs while guaranteeing a certain level of quality of service, in terms of available transport capacity. We analyze the problem for path and tree network topologies as well as several categories of line operation that are important for the Quito Trolebus system. It turns out that, from a computational complexity worst case point of view, the problem is hard in all but the most simple variants. In practice, however, instances based on real data from the Trolebus System in Quito can be solved quite well, and significant optimization potentials can be demonstrated. T3 - ZIB-Report - 08-35 KW - line planning KW - computational complexity KW - public transport KW - integer programming Y1 - 2008 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10869 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Löbel, Andreas A1 - Strubbe, Uwe A1 - Völker, Manfred T1 - Zielorientierte Dienstplanoptimierung N2 - Dieser Artikel behandelt einen Ansatz zur zielorientierten Optimierung der Dienstplanung im ÖPNV. Der Ansatz zielt auf die vollständige Ausnutzung aller planerischen Freiheitsgrade unter korrekter Berücksichtigung von gesetzlichen, tariflichen, technischen und betrieblichen Rahmenbedingungen. Er basiert auf mathematischen Optimierungstechniken, die wir gegenwärtig in einem vom Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung ({\tt bmb+f}) geförderten Verbundprojekt in einer Kooperation zwischen der HanseCom GmbH, der IVU GmbH und dem Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik Berlin entwickeln. Es ist geplant, das Verfahren in die Softwareprodukte HOT II, MICROBUS II und OPUS zu integrieren. Verhandlungen mit den Berliner Verkehrsbetrieben über eine Projektbeteiligung und Integration unserer Software in BERTA sind zur Zeit im Gang. Wir beschreiben die Methodik des Ansatzes, diskutieren Aspekte seiner praktischen Verwendung, und wir berichten über den Stand der Entwicklung. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-41 KW - Dienstplanung KW - Optimierung KW - Zielorientierte Planung Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3847 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Froyland, Gary A1 - Koch, Thorsten A1 - Megow, Nicole A1 - Duane, Emily A1 - Wren, Howard T1 - Optimizing the Landside Operation of a Container Terminal N2 - This paper concerns the problem of operating a landside container exchange area that is serviced by multiple semi-automated rail mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) that are moving on a single bi-directional traveling lane. Such a facility is being built by Patrick Corporation at the Port Botany terminal in Sydney. The gantry cranes are a scarce resource and handle the bulk of container movements. Thus, they require a sophisticated analysis to achieve near optimal utilization. We present a three stage algorithm to manage the container exchange facility, including the scheduling of cranes, the control of associated short-term container stacking, and the allocation of delivery locations for trucks and other container transporters. The key components of our approach are a time scale decomposition, whereby an integer program controls decisions across a long time horizon to produce a balanced plan that is fed to a series of short time scale online subproblems, and a highly efficient space-time divisioning of short term storage areas. A computational evaluation shows that our heuristic can find effective solutions for the planning problem; on real-world data it yields a solution at most~8\% above a lower bound on optimal RMG utilization. T3 - ZIB-Report - 06-06 KW - Integer Programming KW - Container Terminal KW - Intermediate Storage Area KW - Landside operation KW - Yard crane scheduling KW - Storage space allocation Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9004 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Liebchen, Christian T1 - When Periodic Timetables are Suboptimal N2 - The timetable is the essence of the service offered by any provider of public transport'' (Jonathan Tyler, CASPT 2006). Indeed, the timetable has a major impact on both operating costs and on passenger comfort. Most European agglomerations and railways use periodic timetables in which operation repeats in regular intervals. In contrast, many North and South American municipalities use trip timetables in which the vehicle trips are scheduled individually subject to frequency constraints. We compare these two strategies with respect to vehicle operation costs. It turns out that for short time horizons, periodic timetabling can be suboptimal; for sufficiently long time horizons, however, periodic timetabling can always be done in an optimal way'. T3 - ZIB-Report - 07-29 KW - Taktfahrplan KW - Fahrplan KW - Nahverkehr KW - periodic timetable KW - trip timetable KW - public transport Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9151 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Pfetsch, Marc A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - Routing in Line Planning for Public Transportation N2 - The line planning problem is one of the fundamental problems in strategic planning of public and rail transport. It consists in finding lines and corresponding frequencies in a network such that a giv en demand can be satisfied. There are two objectives. Passengers want to minimize travel times, the transport company wishes to minimize operating costs. We investigate three variants of a multi-commo dity flow model for line planning that differ with respect to passenger routings. The first model allows arbitrary routings, the second only unsplittable routings, and the third only shortest path rou tings with respect to the network. We compare these models theoretically and computationally on data for the city of Potsdam. T3 - ZIB-Report - 05-36 KW - line planning KW - column generation KW - passenger routing Y1 - 2005 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-8706 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grötschel, Martin T1 - Verkehrsplanung: Bessere Lösungen mit Mathematik N2 - Anwendungen der Mathematik in der Verkehrs- und Transporttechnologie haben eine große und bedeutende Tradition. Natürlich wurden die ersten Fahrzeuge mit der ingenieurmäßigen Methode von Versuch, Irrtum und Verbesserung entworfen. Aber schon sehr bald kamen mathematische Berechnungen hinzu, mit denen mechanische Eigenschaften von Fahrzeugteilen ermittelt und zum Teil optimiert wurden. Die hierzu erforderliche Mathematik wurde in diesem Jahrhundert zu einem mächtigen Werkzeugkasten ausgebaut. Mit diesem kann man heute z.B. hocheffiziente Motoren mit geringem Schadstoffausstoß entwerfen, aerodynamisch günstige Fahrzeugprofile ermitteln und Flugzeugflügel berechnen, die die gewünschte Last sicher und mit geringem Treibstoffaufwand tragen. Die Mathematik unterstützt die Technologie des Verkehrs beginnend bei globalen Designfragen bis hin zur Spezifizierung von Materialeigenschaften kleinster Bauteile; sie berechnet mit hoher Präzision energieoptimale Bahnen von Raumflugkörpern oder zeitoptimale Trajektorien für Flugzeuge, steuert automatische Roboteranlagen oder innerbetriebliche Transportsysteme. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-99-54 KW - transportation planning KW - applications of integer programming KW - public transportation Y1 - 2000 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-4439 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ascheuer, Norbert A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Combinatorial Online Optimization N2 - In ``classical'' optimization, all data of a problem instance are considered given. The standard theory and the usual algorithmic techniques apply to such cases only. Online optimization is different. Many decisions have to be made before all data are available. In addition, decisions once made cannot be changed. How should one act ``best'' in such an environment? In this paper we survey online problems coming up in combinatorial optimization. We first outline theoretical concepts, such as competitiveness against various adversaries, to analyze online problems and algorithms. The focus, however, lies on real-world applications. We report, in particular, on theoretical investigations and our practical experience with problems arising in transportation and the automatic handling of material. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-24 KW - Online Optimization KW - competitiveness KW - combinatorial optimization KW - real-world problems Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3674 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Abdel-Hamid, Atef Abdel-Aziz A1 - Ascheuer, Norbert A1 - Grötschel, Martin T1 - Order Picking in an Automatic Warehouse: Solving Online Asymmetric TSPs N2 - We report on a joint project with industry that had the aim to sequence transportation requests within an automatic storage system in such a way that the overall travel time is minimized. The manufacturing environment is such that scheduling decisions have to be made before all jobs are known. We have modeled this task as an \emph{online} Asymmetric Traveling Salesman Problem (ATSP). Several heuristics for the online ATSP are compared computationally within a simulation environment to judge which should be used in practice. Compared to the priority rule used so far, the optimization package reduced the unloaded travel time by about 40~\%. Because of these significant savings our procedure was implemented as part of the control software for the stacker cranes of the storage systems. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-08 KW - Traveling Salesman Problem KW - Online-Algorithm KW - Automatic Storage System Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3519 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - Optimization of Transportation Systems N2 - The world has experienced two hundred years of unprecedented advances in vehicle technology, transport system development, and traffic network extension. Technical progress continues but seems to have reached some limits. Congestion, pollution, and increasing costs have created, in some parts of the world, a climate of hostility against transportation technology. Mobility, however, is still increasing. What can be done? There is no panacea. Interdisciplinary cooperation is necessary, and we are going to argue in this paper that {\em Mathematics\/} can contribute significantly to the solution of some of the problems. We propose to employ methods developed in the {\em Theory of Optimization\/} to make better use of resources and existing technology. One way of optimization is better planning. We will point out that {\em Discrete Mathematics\/} provides a suitable framework for planning decisions within transportation systems. The mathematical approach leads to a better understanding of problems. Precise and quantitative models, and advanced mathematical tools allow for provable and reproducible conclusions. Modern computing equipment is suited to put such methods into practice. At present, mathematical methods contribute, in particular, to the solution of various problems of {\em operational planning}. We report about encouraging {\em results\/} achieved so far. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-09 KW - Transportation Systems KW - Optimization KW - Discrete Mathematics Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3529 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ascheuer, Norbert A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Kamin, Nicola A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Combinatorial Online Optimization in Practice N2 - This paper gives a short introduction into combinatorial online optimization. It explains a few evaluation concepts of online algorithms, such as competitiveness, and discusses limitations in their application to real--world problems. The main focus, however, is a survey of combinatorial online problems coming up in practice, in particular, in large scale material flow and flexible manufacturing systems. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-07 KW - Online optimization KW - combinatorial optimization KW - real-world problems Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3508 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Online Optimierung N2 - Wie soll man einen Aufzug steuern, wenn man keine Informationen über zukünftige Fahraufträge besitzt? Soll man eine Bahncard kaufen, wenn die nächsten Bahnreisen noch unbekannt sind? In der klassischen kombinatorischen Optimierung geht man davon aus, daß die Daten jeder Probleminstanz vollständig gegeben sind. In vielen Fällen modelliert diese \emph{Offline-Optimierung} jedoch die Situationen aus Anwendungen nur ungenügend. Zahlreiche Problemstellungen in der Praxis sind in natürlicher Weise \emph{online}: Sie erfordern Entscheidungen, die unmittelbar und ohne Wissen zukünftiger Ereignisse getroffen werden müssen. Als ein Standardmittel zur Beurteilung von Online-Algorithmen hat sich die \emph{kompetitive Analyse} durchgesetzt. Dabei vergleicht man den Zielfunktionswert einer vom Online-Algorithmus generierten Lösung mit dem Wert einer optimalen Offline-Lösung. Mit Hilfe der kompetitiven Analyse werden im Skript Algorithmen zum Caching, Netzwerk-Routing, Scheduling und zu Transportaufgaben untersucht. Auch die Schwächen der kompetitiven Analyse werden aufgezeigt und alternative Analysekonzepte vorgestellt. Neben der theoretischen Seite werden auch die Anwendungen der Online-Optimierung in der Praxis, vor allem bei Problemen der innerbetrieblichen Logistik, beleuchtet. Bei der Steuerung automatischer Transportsysteme tritt eine Fülle von Online-Problemen auf. Hierbei werden an die Algorithmen oftmals weitere Anforderungen gestellt. So müssen Entscheidungen unter strikten Zeitbeschränkungen gefällt werden (Echtzeit-Anforderungen). Dieses Skript ist aus dem Online-Teil der Vorlesung -Ausgewählte Kapitel aus der ganzzahligen Optimierung- (Wintersemester~1999/2000) und der Vorlesung -Online Optimierung- (Sommersemester~2000) an der Technischen Universität Berlin entstanden. T3 - ZIB-Report - 00-55 KW - Kompetitive Analyse KW - Online Optimierung KW - Online Algorithmen Y1 - 2000 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6238 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Löbel, Andreas T1 - Duty Scheduling in Public Transit N2 - This article is about \emph{adaptive column generation techniques} for the solution of duty scheduling problems in public transit. The current optimization status is exploited in an adaptive approach to guide the subroutines for duty generation, LP resolution, and schedule construction toward relevant parts of a large problem. Computational results for three European scenarios are reported. T3 - ZIB-Report - 01-02 KW - Duty Scheduling KW - Constraint Shortest Paths Problem KW - Column Generation Y1 - 2001 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6286 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Schlechte, Thomas T1 - Solving Railway Track Allocation Problems N2 - The \emph{optimal track allocation problem} (\textsc{OPTRA}), also known as the train routing problem or the train timetabling problem, is to find, in a given railway network, a conflict-free set of train routes of maximum value. We propose a novel integer programming formulation for this problem that is based on additional configuration' variables. Its LP-relaxation can be solved in polynomial time. These results are the theoretical basis for a column generation algorithm to solve large-scale track allocation problems. Computational results for the Hanover-Kassel-Fulda area of the German long distance railway network involving up to 570 trains are reported. T3 - ZIB-Report - 07-20 KW - railway track allocation KW - timetabling KW - column generation Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-9631 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Dovica, Ivan A1 - Nowak, Ivo A1 - Schickinger, Thomas T1 - Robust Tail Assignment N2 - We propose an efficient column generation method to minimize the probability of delay propagations along aircraft rotations. In this way, delay resistant schedules can be constructed. Computational results for large-scale real-world problems demonstrate substantial punctuality improvements. The method can be generalized to crew and integrated scheduling problems. T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-08 KW - Flugzeugumlaufplanung KW - robuste Optimierung KW - Spaltenerzeugung KW - Tail Assignment KW - Robust Optimization KW - Column Generation Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11707 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Heismann, Olga T1 - Minimum Cost Hyperassignments with Applications to ICE/IC Rotation Planning N2 - Vehicle rotation planning is a fundamental problem in rail transport. It decides how the railcars, locomotives, and carriages are operated in order to implement the trips of the timetable. One important planning requirement is operational regularity, i.e., using the rolling stock in the same way on every day of operation. We propose to take regularity into account by modeling the vehicle rotation planning problem as a minimum cost hyperassignment problem (HAP). Hyperassignments are generalizations of assignments from directed graphs to directed hypergraphs. Finding a minimum cost hyperassignment is NP-hard. Most instances arising from regular vehicle rotation planning, however, can be solved well in practice. We show that, in particular, clique inequalities strengthen the canonical LP relaxation substantially. T3 - ZIB-Report - 11-46 KW - hyperassignments KW - vehicle rotation planning Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14564 UR - http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-642-29210-1_10 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Langenhan, Andreas A1 - Löbel, Andreas A1 - Schulz, Christof A1 - Weider, Steffen T1 - Duty Scheduling Templates N2 - We propose duty templates as a novel concept to produce similar duty schedules for similar days of operation in public transit. Duty templates can conveniently handle various types of similarity requirements, and they can be implemented with ease using standard algorithmic techniques. They have produced good results in practice. T3 - ZIB-Report - 12-09 KW - duty scheduling KW - duty templates Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14699 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Löbel, Andreas A1 - Reuther, Markus A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Weider, Steffen T1 - Rapid Branching N2 - We propose rapid branching (RB) as a general branch-and-bound heuristic for solving large scale optimization problems in traffic and transport. The key idea is to combine a special branching rule and a greedy node selection strategy in order to produce solutions of controlled quality rapidly and efficiently. We report on three successful applications of the method for integrated vehicle and crew scheduling, railway track allocation, and railway vehicle rotation planning. T3 - ZIB-Report - 12-10 KW - large scale optimization KW - rapid branching KW - column generation Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14728 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Reuther, Markus A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Weider, Steffen T1 - Vehicle Rotation Planning for Intercity Railways N2 - This paper provides a generic formulation for rolling stock planning problems in the context of intercity passenger traffic. The main contributions are a graph theoretical model and a Mixed-Integer-Programming formulation that integrate all main requirements of the considered Vehicle-Rotation-Planning problem (VRPP). We show that it is possible to solve this model for real-world instances provided by our industrial partner DB Fernverkehr AG using modern algorithms and computers. T3 - ZIB-Report - 12-11 KW - rolling-stock-planning KW - mixed-integer-programming KW - hypergraphs KW - column generation KW - rapid branching Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14731 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Sagnol, Guillaume A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - An IP Approach to Toll Enforcement Optimization on German Motorways N2 - This paper proposes the first model for toll enforcement optimization on German motorways. The enforcement is done by mobile control teams and our goal is to produce a schedule achieving network-wide control, proportional to spatial and time-dependent traffic distributions. Our model consists of two parts. The first plans control tours using a vehicle routing approach with profits and some side constraints. The second plans feasible rosters for the control teams. Both problems can be modeled as Multi-Commodity Flow Problems. Adding additional coupling constraints produces a large-scale integrated integer programming formulation. We show that this model can be solved to optimality for real world instances associated with a control area in East Germany. T3 - ZIB-Report - 11-42 KW - Toll Enforcement KW - Vehicle Routing Problem KW - Duty Roster Planning KW - Integer Programming Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14299 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Friedow, Isabel A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - Optimierung des Linienplans 2010 in Potsdam N2 - Im Zuge der Übernahme von 6 Linien der Havelbus Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH durch die ViP Verkehr in Potsdam GmbH ergab sich 2009 die Notwendigkeit der Entwicklung eines neuen Linien- und Taktplans für das Jahr 2010. Das Konrad-Zuse-Zentrum für Informationstechnik Berlin (ZIB) entwickelt in einem Projekt des DFG-Forschungszentrums Matheon ein Verfahren zur mathematischen Linienoptimierung. Dieses Tool wurde bei der Optimierung des ViP Linienplans 2010 in einer projektbegleitenden Studie eingesetzt, um Alternativen bei verschiedenen Planungs- und Zielvorgaben auszuloten. In dem Artikel wird eine Auswertung der Ergebnisse mit dem Verkehrsanalysesystem Visum der PTV AG beschrieben. Die Auswertungen bestätigen, dass mit Hilfe von mathematischer Optimierung eine weitere Verkürzung der Reisezeit um 1%, eine als um 6% verkürzt empfundene Reisezeit, 10% weniger Fahrzeit im Fahrzeug und eine gleichzeitige Kostenreduktion um 5% möglich sind. T3 - ZIB-Report - 12-04 KW - Fallstudie KW - Linienplan KW - Optimierung Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-14486 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Neumann, Marika T1 - Linienoptimierung - reif für die Praxis? N2 - Wir stellen in dieser Arbeit ein mathematisches Optimierungsmodell zur Bestimmung eines optimalen Linienplans vor, das sowohl die Fahrzeiten und die Anzahl der Umstiege berücksichtigt als auch die Kosten des Liniennetzes. Dieses Modell deckt wichtige praktische Anforderungen ab, die in einem gemeinsamen Projekt mit den Verkehrsbetrieben in Potsdam (ViP) formuliert wurden. In diesem Projekt wurde der Linienplan 2010 für Potsdam entwickelt. Unsere Berechnungen zeigen, dass die mathematische Optimierung in nichts einer "Handplanung" des Liniennetzes nachsteht. Im Gegenteil, mit Hilfe des Optimierungsprogramms ist es möglich, durch Veränderung der Parameter mehrere verschiedene Szenarien zu berechnen, miteinander zu vergleichen und Aussagen über minimale Kosten und Fahrzeiten zu machen. T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-20 KW - Linienplanung KW - Optimierung Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11832 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Weider, Steffen T1 - Railway Track Allocation by Rapid Branching N2 - The track allocation problem, also known as train routing problem or train timetabling problem, is to find a conflict-free set of train routes of maximum value in a railway network. Although it can be modeled as a standard path packing problem, instances of sizes relevant for real-world railway applications could not be solved up to now. We propose a rapid branching column generation approach that integrates the solution of the LP relaxation of a path coupling formulation of the problem with a special rounding heuristic. The approach is based on and exploits special properties of the bundle method for the approximate solution of convex piecewise linear functions. Computational results for difficult instances of the benchmark library TTPLIB are reported. T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-22 KW - Trassenallokationsproblem KW - Ganzzahlige Programmierung KW - Rapid-Branching-Heuristik KW - Proximale Bündelmethode KW - Optimization KW - Railway Track Allocation KW - Bundle Method KW - Rapid Branching Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11864 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Erol, Berkan A1 - Graffagnino, Thomas A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - Aggregation Methods for Railway Networks N2 - In this paper a bottom-up approach of automatic simplification of a railway network is presented. Starting from a very detailed, microscopic level, as it is used in railway simulation, the network is transformed by an algorithm to a less detailed level (macroscopic network), that is sufficient for long-term planning and optimization. In addition running and headway times are rounded to a pre-chosen time discretization by a special cumulative method, which we will present and analyse in this paper. After the transformation we fill the network with given train requests to compute an optimal slot allocation. Then the optimized schedule is re-transformed into the microscopic level and can be simulated without any conflicts occuring between the slots. The algorithm is used to transform the network of the very dense Simplon corridor between Swiss and Italy. With our aggregation it is possible for the first time to generate a profit maximal and conflict free timetable for the corridor across a day by a simultaneously optimization run. T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-23 KW - makroskopische Bahnmodellierung KW - Netzwerkaggregation KW - macroscopic railway modeling KW - network aggregation Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11881 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210970611000047 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Erol, Berkan A1 - Graffagnino, Thomas A1 - Schlechte, Thomas A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - Optimizing the Simplon Railway Corridor N2 - This paper presents a case study on a railway timetable optimization for the very dense Simplon corridor, a major railway connection in the Alps between Switzerland and Italy. Starting from a detailed microscopic network as it is used in railway simulation, the data is transformed by an automatic procedure to a less detailed macroscopic network, that is sufficient for the purpose of capacity planning and amenable to state-of-the-art integer programming optimization methods. In this way, the macroscopic railway network is saturated with trains. Finally, the corresponding timetable is re-transformed to the microscopic level in such a way that it can be operated without any conflicts among the slots. Using this integer programming based micro-macro aggregation-disaggregation approach, it becomes for the first time possible to generate a profit maximal and conflict free timetable for the complete Simplon corridor over an entire day by a simultaneous optimization of all trains requests. This also allows to to undertake a sensitivity analysis of various problem parameters. T3 - ZIB-Report - 10-24 KW - Trassenallokation KW - Netzwerkaggregation KW - Fallstudie KW - Simplon Korridor KW - railway track allocation KW - network aggregation KW - case study KW - Simplon corridor Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11892 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - THES A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - Mathematical Optimization and Public Transportation N2 - This cumulative thesis collects the following six papers for obtaining the habilitation at the Technische Universität Berlin, Fakultät II – Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften: (1) Set packing relaxations of some integer programs. (2) Combinatorial packing problems. (3) Decomposing matrices into blocks. (4) A bundle method for integrated multi-depot vehicle and duty scheduling in public transit. (5) Models for railway track allocation. (6) A column-generation approach to line planning in public transport. Some changes were made to the papers compared to the published versions. These pertain to layout unifications, i.e., common numbering, figure, table, and chapter head layout. There were no changes with respect to notation or symbols, but some typos have been eliminated, references updated, and some links and an index was added. The mathematical content is identical. The papers are about the optimization of public transportation systems, i.e., bus networks, railways, and airlines, and its mathematical foundations, i.e., the theory of packing problems. The papers discuss mathematical models, theoretical analyses, algorithmic approaches, and computational aspects of and to problems in this area. Papers 1, 2, and 3 are theoretical. They aim at establishing a theory of packing problems as a general framework that can be used to study traffic optimization problems. Indeed, traffic optimization problems can often be modelled as path packing, partitioning, or covering problems, which lead directly to set packing, partitioning, and covering models. Such models are used in papers 4, 5, and 6 to study a variety of problems concerning the planning of line systems, buses, trains, and crews. The common aim is always to exploit as many degrees of freedom as possible, both at the level of the individual problems by using large-scale integer programming techniques, as well as on a higher level by integrating hitherto separate steps in the planning process. KW - set packing KW - set partitioning KW - set covering KW - polyhedral combinatorics KW - public transport KW - railways Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-13613 ER - TY - THES A1 - Hoppmann, Heide T1 - A Configuration Model for the Line Planning Problem N2 - In this thesis we present a novel extended formulation for the line planning problem that is based on what we call "configurations" of lines and frequencies. Configurations are combinatorial building blocks of primal solutions; they rule out the "capacity numerics" and make the problem purely combinatorial. The concept of configurations can also be adapted to other capacitated network design problems. The configuration model is strong in the sense that it implies several facet-defining inequalities for the standard model: set cover, symmetric band, multicover, and MIR inequalities. These theoretical findings can be confirmed in computations, however, the enormous number of configurations can blow up the formulation for large instances. We propose a mixed model that enriches the standard model by a judiciously chosen subset of configurations that provide a good compromise between model strength and size. Computational results for large-scale line planning problems are presented. N2 - Das Linienplanungsproblem ist ein wichtiges Teilproblem der Angebotsplanung im öffentlichen Nahverkehr. Dabei werden Routen und Betriebsfrequenzen von Linien in einem gegebenen Infrastrukturnetzwerk gesucht, sodass ein gegebener Beförderungsbedarf gedeckt wird und die Kosten minimal sind. Praktische Ansätze zum Lösen dieser Probleme beruhen auf ganzzahliger Programmierung. Ein Schwachpunkt klassischer Modelle ist, dass schon kleine Änderungen der Eingabeparameter eine Vergrößerung oder Verkleinerung der Menge der zulässigen fraktionalen Lösungen bewirken können, auch wenn die Menge der ganzzahligen Lösungen unverändert bleibt. Wir betrachten in dieser Arbeit einen neuen kombinatorischen Ansatz, welcher die Möglichkeiten den Bedarf auf einer Verbindung im Netzwerk mit Frequenzen zu überdecken mit Hilfe von diskreten "Konfigurationen" beschreibt und dieses Problem eliminiert. Um die Vorteile dieses Konfigurationsmodells aufzuzeigen, vergleichen wir es mit einem klassischen Ansatz, den wir Standardmodell nennen. Wir zeigen, dass das Konfigurationsmodell mehrere facettendefinierende Ungleichungen des Standardmodells impliziert: Setcover-, symmetrische Band-, Multicover- und MIR-Ungleichungen. Diese theoretischen Ergebnisse können wir mit Rechenergebnissen bestätigen. Um die Anzahl dieser Variablen auch für große Instanzen zu beschränken, schlagen wir ein weiteres Modell vor, welches nur eine Teilmenge der Konfigurationsvariablen enthält. Dieses stellt sich als ein sehr guter Kompromiss zwischen der Größe und der Stärke des Modells heraus. Da das Linienplanungsproblem eine Spezialisierung des Netzwerkdesignproblems ist, können unsere Methoden auch auf andere Problemklassen übertragen werden. Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-51610 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Gamrath, Gerald A1 - Gleixner, Ambros A1 - Koch, Thorsten A1 - Miltenberger, Matthias A1 - Kniasew, Dimitri A1 - Schlögel, Dominik A1 - Martin, Alexander A1 - Weninger, Dieter T1 - Tackling Industrial-Scale Supply Chain Problems by Mixed-Integer Programming N2 - SAP's decision support systems for optimized supply network planning rely on mixed-integer programming as the core engine to compute optimal or near-optimal solutions. The modeling flexibility and the optimality guarantees provided by mixed-integer programming greatly aid the design of a robust and future-proof decision support system for a large and diverse customer base. In this paper we describe our coordinated efforts to ensure that the performance of the underlying solution algorithms matches the complexity of the large supply chain problems and tight time limits encountered in practice. T3 - ZIB-Report - 16-45 KW - supply chain management, supply network optimization, mixed-integer linear programming, primal heuristics, numerical stability, large-scale optimization Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-61107 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf T1 - Mathematik im Verkehr N2 - Nach einem kurzen Abriss über die Bedeutung des Verkehrssektors als eine wichtige Schlüsseltechnologie im gesamten Verlauf der Menschheitsgeschichte skizzieren wir die Rolle der Mathematik für Verkehr und Transport. Wir spekulieren dann über zukünftige Entwicklungen, insbesondere im Bereich des öffentlichen Personenverkehrs, und begründen, dass die in diesem Bereich anstehenden Herausforderungen nur mit dem Einsatz mathematischer Methoden angemessen bewältigt werden können. Die demographischen Prozesse, die in verschiedenen Teilen der Welt unterschiedlich verlaufen, wie z.B. Überalterung in Europa oder dynamische Trends zu Megastädten in Entwicklungsländern, sich ändernde Lebens- und Produktionsverhältnisse, stark wachsender Bedarf nach Mobilität und enormes Anwachsen der Komplexität der Verkehrsplanung und -durchführung, machen einen verstärkten Zugriff auf mathematische Modellierung, Simulation und Optimierung notwendig. Diese Entwicklung stellt sowohl große Herausforderungen an die Mathematik, wo vielfach noch keine geeigneten Methoden vorhanden sind, als auch an die Praktiker im Bereich von Verkehr und Transport, die sich mit neuen Planungs- und Steuerungstechnologien befassen und diese effizient einsetzen müssen. Hier wird intensive Kooperation zwischen vielen beteiligten Akteuren gefragt sein. T3 - ZIB-Report - 14-03 KW - Optimierung KW - öffentlicher Verkehr Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-50287 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Hoppmann, Heide A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - Umsteigen ohne Warten N2 - Wir stellen einen mathematischen Optimierungsansatz zur Berechnung von periodischen Taktfahrplänen vor, bei dem die Umsteigezeiten unter Berücksichtigung des Passagierverhaltens minimiert werden. Wir untersuchen damit den Einfluss wichtiger Systemparameter und Verhaltensmuster auf die Beförderungsqualität. T3 - ZIB-Report - 17-05 Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-62006 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Hoppmann, Heide A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - A Configuration Model for the Line Planning Problem N2 - We propose a novel extended formulation for the line planning problem in public transport. It is based on a new concept of frequency configurations that account for all possible options to provide a required transportation capacity on an infrastructure edge. We show that this model yields a strong LP relaxation. It implies, in particular, general classes of facet defining inequalities for the standard model. T3 - ZIB-Report - 13-40 KW - combinatorial optimization KW - polyhedral combinatorics KW - line planning Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-41903 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - THES A1 - Wenzel, Ron T1 - On the In-Flight Rest Assignment Problem N2 - The airplane has changed the world in a tremendous way. Efficient scheduling of airmen and aircrafts is of considerable importance for cost-effectiveness of compa- nies. Attentiveness of flight crew members is vital as fatigue can lead to severe accidents. Therefore, duty times of flight crews are strictly limited. Long distance flights may be difficult to schedule with only one set of crew members. Furthermore, pertu- bations of the schedules may entail exchanging the entire crew, which confounds multiday schedules. A new EU regulation introduced in-flight rest: a schedule may extend pilots’ duty times if they rest for a certain time in designated crew compart- ments provided aboard airplanes. Of course they have to be replaced in that period of time. This thesis examines the in-flight rest assignment problem, which is the decision problem whether a given schedule allows for all crew members to take their compul- sory rest. The problem can be seen as multimachine scheduling problem. Efficient algorithms for special cases were developed and an alternative approach for entire hard cases is discussed. Y1 - 2016 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-59328 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Hoppmann, Heide A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - Passenger Routing for Periodic Timetable Optimization N2 - The task of periodic timetabling is to schedule the trips in a public transport system by determining arrival and departure times at every station such that travel and transfer times are minimized. To date, the optimization literature generally assumes that passengers do not respond to changes in the timetable, i.e., the passenger routes are fixed. This is unrealistic and ignores potentially valuable degrees of freedom. We investigate in this paper periodic timetabling models with integrated passenger routing. We show that different routing models have a huge influence on the quality of the entire system: Whatever metric is applied, the performance ratios of timetables w.r.t. to different routing models can be arbitrarily large. Computations on a real-world instance for the city of Wuppertal substantiate the theoretical findings. These results indicate the existence of untapped optimization potentials that can be used to improve the efficiency of public transport systems. T3 - ZIB-Report - 15-55 KW - Passenger routing KW - Periodic timetabling KW - Public transport Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-56739 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Hoppmann, Heide A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - Timetabling and Passenger Routing in Public Transport T2 - Appeard in: Proceedings of Conference on Advanced Systems in Public Transport 2015 (CASPT2015) N2 - The task of timetabling is to schedule the trips in a public transport system by determining periodic arrival and departure times at every station. The goal is to provide a service that is both attractive for passengers and can be operated economically. To date, timetable optimization is generally done with respect to fixed passenger routes, i.e., it is assumed that passengers do not respond to changes in the timetable. This is unrealistic and ignores potentially valuable degrees of freedom. We investigate in this paper periodic timetabling models with integrated passenger routing. We propose several models that differ in the allowed passenger paths and the objectives. We compare these models theoretically and report on computations on real-world instances for the city of Wuppertal. T3 - ZIB-Report - 15-31 KW - Passenger routing KW - Periodic timetabling KW - Public transport Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-55305 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Karbstein, Marika T1 - Neue Planungsinstrumente nutzen: Das Verkehrsangebot verbessern und Kosten sparen N2 - Wir illustrieren anhand des Liniennetzes der Stadt Potsdam das Potenzial mathematischer Methoden der Angebotsplanung. Wir zeigen, dass das "bestmögliche" Verkehrsangebot stark von planerischen Vorgaben beeinflusst wird, mit denen man die Erreichung unterschiedlicher und teilweise gegenläufiger Ziele steuern kann. Die Komplexität des Systems führt zum Auftreten von Rückkoppelungseffekten, die man nicht mit Hilfe von Daumenregeln beherrschen kann. Vielmehr ist der Einsatz moderner Planungsverfahren in einer interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit von politischen Entscheidungsträgern, Verkehrsingenieuren und Mathematikern notwendig, um die aktuellen Herausforderungen in der Verkehrsplanung zu meistern. Der Artikel dokumentiert einen Beitrag zum 7. ÖPNV Innovationskongress des Ministeriums für Verkehr und Infrastruktur des Landes Baden-Württemberg, der vom 9.-11. März 2015 in Freiburg stattfand. T3 - ZIB-Report - 15-33 KW - Linienplan KW - Optimierung Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-55439 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hiller, Benjamin A1 - Tuchscherer, Andreas T1 - Real-Time Destination-Call Elevator Group Control on Embedded Microcontrollers N2 - Algorithmic control of elevator systems has been studied for a long time. More recently, a new paradigm for elevator control has emerged. In destination call systems, the passenger specifies not only the direction of his ride, but the destination floor. Such a destination call system is very interesting from an optimization point of view, since more information is available earlier, which should allow improved planning. However, the real-world destination call system envisioned by our industry partner requires that each destination call (i.e. passenger) is assigned to a serving elevator immediately. This early assignment restricts the potential gained from the destination information. Another aspect is that there is no way to specify the destination floor in the cabin. Therefore, the elevator has to stop on every destination floor of an assigned call, although the passenger may not have boarded the cabin, e.g. due to insufficient capacity. In this paper we introduce a new destination call control algorithm suited to this setting. Since the control algorithm for an entire elevator group has to run on embedded microprocessors, computing resources are very scarce. Since exact optimization is not feasible on such hardware, the algorithm is an insertion heuristic using a non-trivial data structure to maintain a set of tours. To assess the performance of our algorithm, we compare it to similar and more powerful algorithms by simulation. We also compare to algorithms for a conventional system and with a more idealized destination call system. This gives an indication of the relative potentials of these systems. In particular, we assess how the above real-world restrictions influence performance. The algorithm introduced has been implemented by our industry partner for real-world use. T3 - ZIB-Report - 07-26 KW - Aufzugsgruppensteuerung KW - Zielrufsteuerung KW - Echzeitoptimierung KW - Online-Optimierung KW - elevator group control KW - destination call system KW - real time optimation KW - online optimization Y1 - 2007 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10108 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hiller, Benjamin A1 - Klug, Torsten A1 - Tuchscherer, Andreas T1 - Improving the performance of elevator systems using exact reoptimization algorithms N2 - This extended abstract is about algorithms for controlling elevator systems employing destination hall calls, i.e. the passenger provides his destination floor when calling an elevator. We present the first exact algorithm for controlling a group of elevators and report on simulation results indicating that destination hall call systems outperform conventional systems. T3 - ZIB-Report - 09-05 KW - Aufzugssteuerung KW - Onlineoptimierung KW - Exakte Reoptimierung KW - elevator control KW - online optimization KW - exact reoptimation Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11155 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Borndörfer, Ralf A1 - Sagnol, Guillaume A1 - Swarat, Elmar T1 - A Case Study on Optimizing Toll Enforcements on Motorways N2 - In this paper we present the problem of computing optimal tours of toll inspectors on German motorways. This problem is a special type of vehicle routing problem and builds up an integrated model, consisting of a tour planning and a duty rostering part. The tours should guarantee a network-wide control whose intensity is proportional to given spatial and time dependent traffic distributions. We model this using a space-time network and formulate the associated optimization problem by an integer program (IP). Since sequential approaches fail, we integrated the assignment of crews to the tours in our model. In this process all duties of a crew member must fit in a feasible roster. It is modeled as a Multi-Commodity Flow Problem in a directed acyclic graph, where specific paths correspond to feasible rosters for one month. We present computational results in a case-study on a German subnetwork which documents the practicability of our approach. T3 - ZIB-Report - 12-21 KW - Vehicle Routing Problem KW - Duty Rostering KW - Integer Programming KW - Operations Research Y1 - 2012 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-15498 SN - 1438-0064 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ascheuer, Norbert A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - The Online Transportation Problem: Competitive Scheduling of Elevators N2 - In this paper we consider the following online transportation problem (\textsc{Oltp}): Objects are to be transported between the vertices of a given graph. Transportation requests arrive online, specifying the objects to be transported and the corresponding source and target vertex. These requests are to be handled by a server which commences its work at a designated origin vertex and which picks up and drops objects at their starts and destinations. After the end of its service the server returns to its start. The goal of \textsc{Oltp} is to come up with a transportation schedule for the server which finishes as early as possible. We first show a lower bound of~$5/3$ for the competitive ratio of any deterministic algorithm. We then analyze two simple and natural strategies which we call \textsf{REPLAN} and \textsf{IGNORE}. \textsf{REPLAN} completely discards its schedule and recomputes a new one when a new request arrives. \textsf{IGNORE} always runs a (locally optimal) schedule for a set of known requests and ignores all new requests until this schedule is completed. We show that both strategies, \textsf{REPLAN} and \textsf{IGNORE}, are $5/2$-competitive. We also present a somewhat less natural strategy \textsf{SLEEP}, which in contrast to the other two strategies may leave the server idle from time to time although unserved requests are known. We also establish a competitive ratio of~$5/2$ for the algorithm \textsf{SLEEP}. Our results are extended to the case of ``open schedules'' where the server is not required to return to its start position at the end of its service. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-98-34 KW - online optimization KW - competitive analysis KW - elevator Y1 - 1998 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3779 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Blom, Michiel A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Paepe, Willem de A1 - Stougie, Leen T1 - The Online-TSP Against Fair Adversaries N2 - In the online traveling salesman problem requests for visits to cities (points in a metric space) arrive online while the salesman is traveling. The salesman moves at no more than unit speed and starts and ends his work at a designated origin. The objective is to find a routing for the salesman which finishes as early as possible. Performance of algorithms is measured through their competitive ratio, comparing the outcome of the algorithms with that of an adversary who provides the problem instance and therefore is able to achieve the optimal offline solution. Objections against such omnipotent adversaries have lead us to devise an adversary that is in a natural way, in the context of routing problems, more restricted in power. For the exposition we consider the online traveling salesman problem on the metric space given by the non-negative part of the real line. We show that a very natural strategy is~$3/2$-competitive against the conventional adversary, which matches the lower bound on competitive ratios achievable for algorithms for this problem. Against the more ``\emph{fair adversary}'', that we propose, we show that there exists an algorithm with competitive ratio $\frac{1+\sqrt{17}}{4}\approx 1.28$ and provide a matching lower bound. We also show competitiveness results for a special class of algorithms (called zealous algorithms) that do not allow waiting time for the server as long as there are requests unserved. T3 - ZIB-Report - 00-09 KW - Vehicle Routing KW - Online-Algorithms KW - Competitive Analysis Y1 - 2000 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-5779 ER - TY - THES A1 - Hiller, Benjamin T1 - Bad Guys are Rare: Probabilistic Analysis of an Elementary Dial-a-Ride Problem N2 - This thesis deals with a Dial-a-Ride problem on trees and considers both offline and online versions of this problem. We study the behavior of certain algorithms on random instances, i.e. we do probabilistic analysis. The focus is on results describing the typical behavior of the algorithms, i.e. results holding with (asymptotically) high probability. For the offline version, we present a simplified proof of a result of Coja-Oghlan, Krumke und Nierhoff. The results states that some heuristic using a minimum spanning tree to approximate a Steiner tree gives optimal results with high probability. This explains why this heuristic produces optimal solutions quite often. In the second part, probabilistic online versions of the problem are introduced. We study the online strategies REPLAN and IGNORE. Regarding the IGNORE strategy we can show that it works almost optimal under high load with high probability. KW - Dial-a-Ride problem on trees KW - probabilistic analysis KW - online algorithms Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-10114 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Probieren geht über Studieren? Entscheidungshilfen für kombinatorische Online-Optimierungsprobleme in der innerbetrieblichen Logistik N2 - Die Automatisierung von innerbetrieblicher Logistik erfordert -- über die physikalische Steuerung von Geräten hinaus -- auch eine effiziente Organisation der Transporte: ein Aufgabenfeld der kombinatorischen Optimierung. Dieser Artikel illustriert anhand von konkreten Aufgabenstellungen die Online-Problematik (unvollständiges Wissen) sowie die Echtzeit-Problematik (beschränkte Rechenzeit), auf die man in der innerbetrieblichen Logistik trifft. Der Text gibt einen Überblick über allgemeine Konstruktionsprinzipien für Online-Algorithmen und Bewertungsmethoden, die bei der Entscheidung helfen, welche Algorithmen für eine vorliegende Problemstellung geeignet sind. T3 - ZIB-Report - 02-05 KW - Logistik KW - Hochregallagerbediengeräte KW - Kommissioniermobile KW - Aufzüge KW - Online-Optimierung KW - Echtzeit-Optimierung KW - Simulation KW - kompetitive Analyse Y1 - 2002 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-6723 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krumke, Sven T1 - News from the Online Traveling Repairman N2 - The traveling repairman problem (TRP) is a variant of the famous traveling salesman problem (TSP). The objective for the TRP is to minimize the latency, that is the the weighted sum of completion times of the cities, where the completion time of a city is defined to be the time in the tour before the city is reached. In the online traveling repairman problem (OLTRP) requests for visits to cities (points in a metric space) arrive online while the repairman is traveling. We analyze the performance of algorithms using competitive analysis, where the cost of an online algorithm is compared to that of an optimal offline algorithm. An optimal offline algorithm knows the entire request sequence in advance and can serve it with minimum cost. Recently, Feuerstein and Stougie presented a $9$-competitive algorithm for the OLTRP on the real line. In this paper we show how to use techniques from online-scheduling to obtain an $8$-competitive deterministic algorithm which works for any metric space. We also present a randomized algorithm which has a competitive ratio of $\frac{4}{\ln 2}\approx 5.7708$ against an oblivious adversary. All of our results also hold for the ``dial-a-ride'' generalization of the OLTRP, where objects have to be picked up and delivered by a server. T3 - ZIB-Report - 00-08 KW - Traveling Repairman KW - Latency KW - Dial-a-Ride-Problem KW - Competitive Analysis Y1 - 2000 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-5767 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hauptmeier, Dietrich A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - The Online Dial-a-Ride Problem under Reasonable Load N2 - In this paper, we analyze algorithms for the online dial-a-ride problem with request sets that fulfill a certain worst-case restriction: roughly speaking, a set of requests for the online dial-a-ride problem is reasonable if the requests that come up in a sufficiently large time period can be served in a time period of at most the same length. This new notion is a stability criterion implying that the system is not overloaded. The new concept is used to analyze the online dial-a-ride problem for the minimization of the maximal resp.\ average flow time. Under reasonable load it is possible to distinguish the performance of two particular algorithms for this problem, which seems to be impossible by means of classical competitive analysis. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-99-08 KW - online optimization KW - competitive analysis KW - elevator Y1 - 1999 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3961 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Grötschel, Martin A1 - Hauptmeier, Dietrich A1 - Krumke, Sven A1 - Rambau, Jörg T1 - Simulation Studies for the Online-Dial-a-Ride Problem N2 - In a large distribution center of Herlitz AG, Berlin, we invesigated the elevator subsystem of the fully automated pallet transportation system. Each elevator may carry one pallet and has to serve eight levels. The goal is to minimize the average resp.\ the maximum flow time. The variants of this elevator control problem have been subject of recent theoretical research and are known as online-dial-a-ride problems. In this paper we investigate several online algorithms for several versions of online-dial-a-ride problems by means of a simulation program, developed on the basis of the simulation library AMSEL. We draw statistics from samples of randomly generated data providing for different load situations. Moreover, we provide preliminary studies with real production data for a system of five elevators connected by a conveyor circuit, as can be found at the Herlitz plant. We show which algorithms are best under certain load situations and which lead to break downs under particular circumstances. T3 - ZIB-Report - SC-99-09 KW - online optimization KW - competitive analysis KW - elevator KW - simulation studies Y1 - 1999 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-3976 ER -